


Dolly Surprise

by Small_Hobbit



Series: Another Twelve Days of Christmas [11]
Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 00:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9211532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: Dr Watson helps with a case, as told in succession by the various participants.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for debriswoman

**_Dr Watson_ **

The first thing I heard was a loud knocking at the front door and Mrs Hudson’s footsteps as she went downstairs.  She had scarcely opened the door before there was a thundering of feet and a young lad appeared in the doorway of our rooms.

“Inspector ‘Opkins sent me,” he gasped.

“I’m afraid Mr Holmes is out,” I replied.

“’E doesn’t want Mr ‘Olmes, ‘e wants you.”

Quickly I grabbed my bag, because if Hopkins had sent for me it would not be for my deductive abilities, but my medical skills, and I followed the lad down a few of the narrow streets to where Hopkins was waiting.

 

**_Inspector Hopkins_ **

Following a tip-off I had taken two constables to arrest Jennings on suspicion of receiving stolen goods.  Jennings and his confederate had spotted our arrival and had sought to escape, pushing Jennings’ two small daughters down some steps in their hurry to do so.  I told my constables to pursue the men and I sent a boy to fetch Dr Watson. 

Both girls were badly shaken, with cuts and bruises, and the doctor suspected the younger might have broken her arm.  Accordingly we carried the two girls to Baker Street where the doctor could treat them.

 

**_Mouselet_ **

When I heard the doctor and my dear inspector arrive I poked my nose out of my mouse hole to see what had happened. 

My inspector set the little girl he was carrying down in one of the chairs and said, “May I leave the girls in your care for the moment?”

“Of course,” the doctor replied.  “Have you been injured as well?”  He pointed to some blood on my poor inspector’s hand.

The lovely man removed his pocket handkerchief and wiped the blood, which came off.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  “No, I think it must have been from Maisie’s knee.”

The doctor nodded, and my inspector promised he would call back later, which is good news.

In the meantime, there was work to be done.

 

**_The Ocelot_ **

Ordinarily I would not make my presence known when there are clients in 221B, but the two little girls were in need of distraction, so Dr Watson introduced me as his large friendly pussy cat.  Normally I would object to such a description, but the doctor needed to examine the younger girl’s arm (her name, Maisie told us, was Ruby), so I did not complain.

Dr Watson was not sure whether Ruby’s arm was broken, but he decided to splint it anyway and give her a sling.  As he did that, Maisie picked up her sister’s rag doll which she had dropped.

“The stitching is coming loose on dolly,” she said.  “I might be able to mend it for her.”

“Let me see,” the doctor said.

He took the doll and his eyebrows shot up.  He turned the doll in my direction – it appeared there were diamonds which had been sewn inside her.

“I can mend your doll,” he said.  “But it might take me a few minutes.  In the meantime I think it would be better if you were to stay with Mrs Hudson.”

 

**_Mrs Hudson_ **

The doctor brought down the two little girls and asked me if I could look after them for a short while.  He also told me that while he did not think they were in any danger, it would be better if they and I stayed in my rooms, and I was not to answer the door if anyone came.

I was not very pleased at the thought of unsavoury characters in my house, but I did not want to frighten the girls, so I didn’t complain. 

I gave them a cup of milk and a piece of bread and jam each.  Then I laid Ruby on my bed, where she fell asleep and Maisie gave me a hand with polishing the candlesticks.

 

**_The Ferret_ **

As soon as Dr Watson returned from taking the girls to Mrs Hudson he said, “I think we can expect a visitor very soon.  Someone is going to be looking for the diamonds.  When they fail to find them where Hopkins went to arrest Jennings, they will assume the girls still have the doll, and it won’t be hard for them to discover where the girls were taken.  However, we can’t presume just because someone’s come for the girls they want the diamonds, so we need to have a plan.”

The plan was to leave the doll on the table, where it would be easy for anyone who wanted to pick it up.  Only, of course, it would not be a doll stuffed with diamonds, but doll’s clothes stuffed with a ferret.  With Mouselet’s assistance I wriggled into the doll’s dress and pulled the mob cap onto my head.  I wasn’t entirely convincing as a rag doll, but we assumed whoever came would have more things on their mind than why the rag doll appeared to have a furry face.

 

**_Dr Watson_ **

It was not long before there was another knock at the door, although rather less insistent than the earlier one.  I went down to answer it, to be met by a man who introduced himself as Maisie and Ruby’s uncle, come to collect them.  I took him up to 221B and then made my excuses saying I would go and fetch the girls.

I left the door slightly ajar and had not even reached the top of the stairs when I heard the ‘uncle’ say “Got it!”  He must have then picked up the rag doll because there was a scream and I returned to find the rag doll had its teeth very firmly attached to the man’s fingers.

I took my revolver out of my jacket pocket and told the man to sit on one of the chairs.  The Ferret let go of the man’s hand so that I could tie the man firmly to the chair.

 

**_Inspector Hopkins_ **

I had received a message via one of Mr Holmes’ Irregulars to say the diamonds we were after were at Baker Street.  When I arrived I discovered another member of the gang, who had sought to retrieve the diamonds.  We took him into custody.  I am not sure of his state of mind; he kept insisting he had been bitten by a rag doll.

 

 


End file.
